Weight loss / Type 2 Diabetes

[GSARider]

I had an appointment today with my Diabetes specialist Doctor. My 8 months of training have helped quite a bit. My glucose levels have dropped from 12.6 to 6.2, which, I have been told is very good. Weight loss, I’m down from 126kg to 98kg. Training wise I have been doing 1x 30 min row session, 7 days a week and weights added to that every second day. I also manage 2 x 90 min walks per week. Some days I do 2 x 30 min rows.

I have been using the Apple Fitness rowing classes, but I feel I’ve outgrown them now, as it just doesn’t get my heart rate up past 140bpm. I need to get my glucose levels down below 5.6, which should put my diabetes into remission officially and I need to get my weight to 85kg.

So I am now going for a 60 min row + weights alternating each day with an 80 min row session with no weights. Does this sound okay chaps?

[Dangerscouse]

First of all, very well done on your weight loss and controlling your diabetes.

Yeah it does sound like a decent enough plan, but I don't think it will easily address your issue of not exceeding 140bpm.

A 60 or 80 min row will be really tough to maintain at a higher intensity if you've not done any sessions above 140 before. I'd suggest that you need to a 4k / 5k warmup and then do 6 x 1k / 5 x 1.5k or 4 x 2k intervals (whatever seems achieveable to you) with four mins rest.

[GSARider]

My row session today was 63 mins and average heart rate was 138bpm with a peak of 156bpm. I didn’t feel it stretched my abilities. I was basically using three stroke rates 28 / 30 / 34, with one minute at the end at 26. My Apple Watch helps me keep track of it all.

[Sakly]

It would also be very helpful to think about your diet, as this is the main driver of diabetes type 2 and has a huge influence to your blood sugar and insulin levels, latter one as the main driver for insulin resistance and leading to chronic high blood sugar levels.
What type of food do you eat? How often do you eat?
Sport is very supporting, but diet has a much bigger effect.

[Dangerscouse]

My row session today was 63 mins and average heart rate was 138bpm with a peak of 156bpm. I didn’t feel it stretched my abilities. I was basically using three stroke rates 28 / 30 / 34, with one minute at the end at 26. My Apple Watch helps me keep track of it all.

Imo, and I'm not basing this on personal experience, but I wouldn't rely on a watch to give a precise HR. I'd only want to use a HR strap (chest or arm)

What's your age? 156bpm not feeling too hard is high and may be pointing to something not being quite right, not that your age will be a definitive answer either

[GSARider]

I'm 56 and the other app I use (gentler streak) says that the hr zones are good for me. I understand that it may not be 100% accurate, but it does give me trends over longer periods and there are also user tests that say it is pretty good on the Apple Watch Ultra.

https://thewearableguy.com/apple-watch- ... racy-test/

[ecrow]

I was diagnosed pre-diabetic (and obese) so have been reading. It seems one of the most beneficial things for health in general is some kind of fasting, whether is extreme or the more popular IF (16:8 eating). I've been trying it on and off and it seems doable. In the end its all about calories but fasting seems to have other benefits too.

[GSARider]

I was diagnosed pre-diabetic (and obese) so have been reading. It seems one of the most beneficial things for health in general is some kind of fasting, whether is extreme or the more popular IF (16:8 eating). I've been trying it on and off and it seems doable. In the end its all about calories but fasting seems to have other benefits too.

Interesting, the latest research I have read says that fasting doesn’t work. I am losing around 3-4kg a month atm, but I am averaging 73 mins exercise per day, 7 days a week. I have cut out chocolates, cookies, etc and have fruit instead and very little snacking between meals or fast foods…Weighed today at 97kg and I’m happy with that.

[ecrow]

I was diagnosed pre-diabetic (and obese) so have been reading. It seems one of the most beneficial things for health in general is some kind of fasting, whether is extreme or the more popular IF (16:8 eating). I've been trying it on and off and it seems doable. In the end its all about calories but fasting seems to have other benefits too.

Interesting, the latest research I have read says that fasting doesn’t work. I am losing around 3-4kg a month atm, but I am averaging 73 mins exercise per day, 7 days a week. I have cut out chocolates, cookies, etc and have fruit instead and very little snacking between meals or fast foods…Weighed today at 97kg and I’m happy with that.

I haven't seen that. do you have any links?

[GSARider]

Sorry, no, it comes up in my Apple News Feed with articles. What I recall it also said was keeping your eating within an 8 hour window each day is best - which is what I have been doing more or less and it seems good in terms of my blood sugar levels and weight loss, plus enough energy for everything.

[iain]

Apologies for the slow reply, busy extended weekend!

Re HR, this varies hugely between people. There are people your are with HRmax above 200 and some where it is 160. So 156 will be extreme for some but UT1 for others. You either need to do a hard session to estimate your HRmax, or you should rely on how easy it is for you to carry on a conversation (for long regular steady rows it should not be difficult).

I would say that your stroke rate looks very high. Most rowers would aim for 18-20 SPM for these kind of rows. Rowing should involve a short burst of relatively high intensity work as you accelerate the handle (akin to a squat), followed by a very slow recovery. The low rating is achieved by slowing the recovery while maintaining the intensity of the drive, so you should be able to increase the intensity of the drive relative to now while slowing the recovery. Many people struggle with this, so you may like to adapt in stages rather than taking the rate down all the way in one go, so perhaps try and do 24SPM for a week before lowering 2 a week or so.

As for the distance, it is recommended that you only increase distance by 10% or so a week, so I would suggest only changing the distance of occassional rows at first and then increase the others in sequence until you reach your desired program. I would also recommend some intervals as suggested by Dangerscouse above. They may not burn as many calories during the row, but they do provide additional adaptions and you will burn more calories between rows. These should be done at a higher intensity, but at a pace that you are confident you can maintain for the whole workout. THis will then allow you to do some higher intensity work while keeping the majority at a low intensity.

In addition, I would recommend taking a day off rowing each week (perhaps just have a walk on this day). This helps the body to adapt to the exercise.

Well done so far, look forward to reading about your continued improvement.

[GSARider]

Thank you, I think my stroke rate is high, having watched a few YouTube videos now. The Apple Fitness rowing classes are all pretty fast moving. The slowest starting rate is 24spm and most classes will go to 30spm and sometimes up to 34spm, which is what I have been doing. I never realised that they can be slower, but still maintain intensity.

This morning, I did a fairly high spm, and managed 10,000 metres in 53:55 - no idea if that’s good or bad…

I do also take a day off now from rowing at least once a week and use the day to cut my grass which is just over an acre and use a push mower, as it gives me exercise without being too taxing - about 6km walk and 90 mins.

[GSARider]

Grass cutting …

[drluvguru]

I had an appointment today with my Diabetes specialist Doctor. My 8 months of training have helped quite a bit. My glucose levels have dropped from 12.6 to 6.2, which, I have been told is very good. Weight loss, I’m down from 126kg to 98kg. Training wise I have been doing 1x 30 min row session, 7 days a week and weights added to that every second day. I also manage 2 x 90 min walks per week. Some days I do 2 x 30 min rows.

I have been using the Apple Fitness rowing classes, but I feel I’ve outgrown them now, as it just doesn’t get my heart rate up past 140bpm. I need to get my glucose levels down below 5.6, which should put my diabetes into remission officially and I need to get my weight to 85kg.

So I am now going for a 60 min row + weights alternating each day with an 80 min row session with no weights. Does this sound okay chaps?

Congrats on your progress!

I typically do a 45-minute jog every morning and a mix of weights and HIIT in the evenings about 4 times a week. It's been great for my energy and overall health.

[ukaserex]

With regards to diabetes, it's my understanding that the single most important thing after watching your sugar intake is weight training. As the muscles grow, there's more room for the body to stash the glucose.

As far as your progress on the exercise, I would be wary of increasing from 30 minutes to 60. My concern would be your body may find it just hard enough to discourage you from continuing to keep at it, which can result in discouraging yourself from even doing the 30 minutes. That said, only you know if that's a valid concern. I would suggest a 10 minute increase.

I would also encourage you keep tabs on how far you go on your 30 minute rows. Is your rate all over the place, or are you rowing consistently in a certain range? If your rate is consistently in a narrow range, like 18-22 s/m, how far are you getting? Is the distance covered increasing as time goes by?

Conversely, have you considered incorporating the weights with the rowing?
As an example, row for 2 minutes, then take 2 minutes to squat, with or without weights, then get back on the rower. Next time, row 2 minutes, then take 2 minutes to do push-ups or bench press, depending on what equipment you have available. These kind of intervals can certainly get your heart rate elevated quickly.

I only do this once a week - where I row 800M, do 20 air-squats, 20 push-ups, then another 800M, and repeat 5 times.
Once every few months, I do this crazy crossfit workout that I absolutely love to hate:
20 calories on the rower, then do 20 wall-balls, which is where you take this weighted ball, throw it 10 feet in the air, and as you catch it, lower into a squat, then re-throw the ball 10 feet in the air. (Helps to bounce it off a wall)
I only do that for 20 minutes, and keep tabs on how many reps I get through to see if I'm regressing/progressing. (each calorie is a rep, and each wall-ball toss is a rep. One of these days I'm going to break 500 reps, but that isn't today.

Just some ideas for you to consider. You are welcome to toss these aside and plot your own course, as it seems you're making good progress already.